India’s Polished Diamond Prices Climb Further in August

The average per carat price of India’s polished diamond imports and exports rose in August as the value of polished diamonds traded increased relative to their volume.

The average price per carat of polished imports in August increased 9.25 percent to $379.92 per carat from $347.75, while the average per carat price of polished diamond exports rose 3.95 percent to $334.41 from $321.71, according to figures released by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.

Polished diamond imports rose 23.3 percent in August to $591.91 million from $480.2 million the year before, while the volume of imports grew by 12.8 percent year-over-year to 1.558 million carats from 1.381 million carats.

Exports were up 6.6 percent at $1422.91 million in August from $1334.45 million the year before, while their volume increased by 2.6 percent to 4.255 carats from 4.148 carats a year earlier.

India’s polished diamond trade is growing in value while declining in volume, a trend seen in other diamond trading centers, reflecting declining demand for lower quality goods and rising prices.

During the period between April and August India imported 10.266 million carats worth $3.226 billion, representing a 78.5 percent and 73.6 percent rise respectively from the amount and value of polished diamonds imported in the comparable period a year earlier.

Indian polished exports for the April to August period rose 22.8 percent in value and 10.4 percent in volume year-over-year. Polished exports rose to $6.587 billion from $5.364 billion in 2007, and volume rose to 18.467 million carats from 16.721 million carats a year earlier.